The present invention comprises a hunting and sporting garment for females which is equipped with means for concealing the female wearer's face comprising a hood, a face covering, means for attaching the face covering to the hood to form the concealing means, and means for storage of the face covering and hood when not in use. The garment further includes a crotch opening and closure means thereby enabling a female wearer of the garment to conveniently and safely perform bodily waste functions without removing the garment or a portion thereof.
One-piece and two-piece suits, such as cover-alls, snow-suits, etc. are commonly utilized by hunters, sportsmen and women, and other outdoorsmen and women to provide warmth and protection from the elements. Hunters commonly wear suits with a camouflage pattern to conceal themselves from the bird or animal which they are hunting. Suits intended to be used in cold weather are insulated and bulky, while suits intended to be used in warmer weather are lighter weight and breathable, etc. Participants in outdoor sports such snow skiing and snow boarding, snowmobiling, motorcycling, fishing, etc. also utilize one-piece and two-piece suits.
Prior art hunting and sporting garments commonly incorporate means for covering and/or concealing the face of the wearer. This is desirable when performing hunting activities so as to further hide oneself from a bird or animal which is being hunted. The face covering means also provide additional protection from the elements, such as protection from wind and/or blowing rain or snow.
Common face concealing means often comprise a separate garment, such as a facemask. The use of a separate garment is undesirable, as the facemask can be easily misplaced if removed while a hunting or sporting activity is being performed. Other common face concealing means comprise a facemask that permanently is attached to the hood or neck portion of the hunting or sporting garment. The prior art face concealing means are undesirable because they are easily displaced from their ideal orientation with respect to a user's face, thereby causing a user's vision to be obscured and/or cannot be removed and easily stored when not in use.
Accordingly, there is a need for a face concealing device that does not obscure the vision of the wearer when in use and means for storing the face concealing device when not in use.
Additionally, outdoor sports normally take place in locations where access to formal restroom facilities is limited or non-existent, such as forests and other wooded areas, mountains, lakes, streams, rivers, open fields, etc. Further, such sports are commonly engaged in over relatively long time periods. Therefore, the need to relive oneself of bodily waste arises.
Difficulties in voiding bodily wastes are inherent in prior art hunting and sporting suits. Generally, such garments have a lower portion, such as pants or the like, generally having an opening at a seam, the seam transecting the lower portion of the garment through the crotch from the waistband in the back of the lower portion of the garment to the waistband in the front of the lower portion of the garment. The opening is generally closeable by a zipper, a set of buttons, hook-and-loop fasteners such as VELCRO®, or other suitable closure. The opening is typically located in the front of the transecting seam between the waistband and a point forward of the center point of the transecting seam.
The location of the opening in prior art hunting and sporting garments allows men to perform bodily waste functions, such as urination, without removing the garment or a portion thereof. However, the location of the opening is inconvenient, uncomfortable, and potentially hazardous when the performance of other bodily waste functions, such as defecation, are attempted by men without removing the garment, and wholly inconvenient, uncomfortable, and potentially hazardous when the performance of any bodily waste function is attempted by women without removing the garment.
In order for females to perform bodily waste functions while wearing prior art garments, or for men to perform certain bodily waste functions, it is necessary for the wearer to remove the garment or a portion thereof, substantially undressing the more private parts of the body. This is undesirable, especially in cold weather. It is further necessary for the wearer of the garment to assume an uncomfortable position in order to perform the necessary bodily function(s). The positions customarily chosen for performing such bodily functions may occasionally lead to accidents such as unwanted soiling of the garment, loss of balance, embarrassing falls, and injury.
Accordingly, there is a need for an opening and closure system for a hunting and sporting garment particularly adapted for female usage that allows a wearer of the garment to conveniently and safely perform bodily waste functions without significantly undressing and without being compelled to assume an inherently uncomfortable and dangerous position.
In accordance with the present invention a hunting and sporting suit for females comprises a face concealing means incorporated into an upper component of the garment. The face concealing means includes a facemask for covering the face of the wearer of the garment. The facemask attaches to a hood secured to the upper component of the garment by closure means that permits the facemask to be removed from the hood and stored in a pocket of the upper component. The closure means may be a zipper, a set of buttons, a hook-and-loop fasteners such as VELCRO®), etc. Further, the hood may be stored within the collar portion of the upper component of the garment.
The hunting and sporting suit for females comprising the present invention further comprises a lower portion. A crotch seam transects the lower portion from the waist band in the back of the lower portion to the waist band in the front of the lower portion. An opening conforms to the contour of the crotch seam from a point behind the center point of the transecting seam to a point located proximately to the waistband in the front of the lower portion. The opening in the seam may be closed by various closure means such as a zipper, a set of buttons, hook-and-loop fasteners such as VELCRO®, etc.
The upper component of the garment may be separate from the lower portion of the garment or the upper and lower portions may be combined so as to form a unitary hunting and sporting garment for females.